Dark Secrets Of Competitive Pokémon Revealed: 50% Of Pro Players Cheat, Survey Says

A recent survey of the competitive Pokémon community, focusing on Nintendo ADR's (OTC: NTDOY) Pokémon Scarlet and Violet games, highlighted a significant prevalence of cheating among professional players.

As per Kotaku, the survey indicated approximately 50% of the teams used by pros do not adhere to the game's current rules and are considered illegal.

See Also: Pokémon Presents Showcase Highlights: All The Big Announcements You Shouldn't Miss

Cheating often involves using hacked Pokémon and tools such as PKHeX, an unauthorized Pokémon save editor, which are commonly employed to create these Pokémon.

The data from the survey indicates that around 17% of World Championship teams contained hacked Pokémon.

Kurt, the creator of PKHeX, acknowledged the use of his tool in competitive play isn't without controversy, as it saves time that could otherwise be spent on strategic planning and understanding the game's meta.

"This year’s analysis didn’t change my mind about anything, but it makes it more clear the entitlement that some players have. They don’t understand that the future will likely not be as accessible as the cheat-enabled present," the creator behind PKHeX told Kotaku.

Kurt also speculated future Nintendo consoles might have improved security measures to curb rampant hacking.

VGC Cheating 2023: with the Pokémon World Championships concluding last weekend, we’ve gathered >850 recent rental teams and analyzed them with our usual *free hack checks*. A season finale of @4Chris_Brown’s nightmare! Overall stats below: pic.twitter.com/1l5T8KjSIh

— Kurt (@Kaphotics) August 19, 2023

Read Next: The Unbelievable Story Of The 'Pokémon Go Grandpa,' The 74-Year-Old Cycling Around With 64 Devices Attached To His Bicycle

Photo: Michael Rivera on Unsplash